I run my ceiling fans in the winter, and especially in the summer when the (central) air is on. Phungal disagrees, claiming it is a waste of electricity. I claim it circulates both warm and cool air. Your thoughts?
I run mine year round. In the summer, the breeze feels good and in the winter they blow the hot air down from the ceiling (I have 10’ ceilings, so it helps a lot).
Tell phungal she’s wrong. Running the ceiling fan can cut your cooling bills by 25-30%, and it helps push warm air back down in the winter.
Mine stays on virtually 24-7.
When I recently remodeled, I put ceiling fans in every room but the bathrooms. I run them pretty much all the time.
How much energy does it really waste? Turn them all off, go check the meter and write down an hour’s worth, then turn them all on and re-check. Figure out what the difference in wattage actually translates to in cost and decide if you can both live with that amount of “wasteful” spending.
I really have no idea what it costs, but if it turns out to be fifteen bucks extra monthly, maybe you’ll concede it’s a waste and be okay with turning them off. If it’s an extra three dollars, maybe she’ll be okay with the waste.
If you really do figure out the cost, come back and post it because now I’m curious but not quite motivated enough to do my own figuring. 
One hour is not nuff IMO to tell how the rest of the systems will load or unload to maintain the house temps with and without the fans. Prolly could get an idea by doing it for 24 hrs at a time and working hard to not do anything different for the 48 hrs necessary and hope that the weather is pretty constant.
Each house is way different.
$15 per month is an easy choice for me, go with the fans… I really need air moving more than a certain temp. to be comfortable.
YMMV
Fans in my houses have been on 24/7 ever since I was a little kid. Well, since I was a kid, anyway…
(I was born 6’4" and 200#… my mom is a real trouper!)